in many buildings, much gets lost in translation of what the thing should look like. In Colorado and other mountain states, the vernacular for a home dictates a Mountain Homestead sort of look; in Oklahoma, Texas and other southern areas the local taste may shape a commercial building as one would a prairie home. A structure is put up, the mechanical & electrical systems are installed, and barrage of finishes are applied to achieve the final look of the thing. What's wrong with this?: absolutely nothing - it works just fine. But it could be better with a little less effort:
It can be somewhat tragic to see what happens to a steel structure covered by drywall that, in and of itself, is a thing of beauty. Mechanical systems, mainly duct work, can add a dynamic that can't be achieved by the finest ceilings used to hide them. But that's what we do, we integrate the systems and cover them up.
A concept that is age old, "doing more with less," can be applied to so many situations. For example take a look at the economy: all over the world, people are having to apply this on an operational level. how about looking at this from a design/construction level? We can put a little more thought into the nuts and bolts of our buildings and use them to create a thing of unique beauty..
"Less is more"
Robert Browning, 1855
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Hiya Hiya Hiya and happy holidays!
The pulse around here, with myself and other architects that I've been talking to, is an oddly busy one. During the holidays, we're typically cleaning out our desks, making projections for the new year, planning ski trips, basically filling our schedules with C-Time activities. However, I myself have been turning out various projects and deadlines. My desk is very messy and I've had no time to ski my home mountain,much less plan a trip.
Are any of us complaining? Absolutely not! We feel blessed, not only can we be billable during a typically non-billable time of year, but this is giving us an extremely positive indicator of what 2011 may bring. And that appears to be a few more steps out of this recession.
Another exciting thing, at least for this architect, is that the source of the work seems to be changing. JR has promoted an approach to design from a three dimensional aspect from day one - where the design profession has been traditionally filled by 2 dimensional plans and other "descriptive" types of documents (all of which are critical to building but typically confuse the layperson); JR has made it a point to communicate with the client in terms that the client can understand. This includes 3d renderings, video, and other types of media. Well, the rendering and video part has transformed into a side service in and of itself, and the more JR can offer clients the better for JR and the client!
Happy Holidays and feel free to stop by for a chat!
Are any of us complaining? Absolutely not! We feel blessed, not only can we be billable during a typically non-billable time of year, but this is giving us an extremely positive indicator of what 2011 may bring. And that appears to be a few more steps out of this recession.
Another exciting thing, at least for this architect, is that the source of the work seems to be changing. JR has promoted an approach to design from a three dimensional aspect from day one - where the design profession has been traditionally filled by 2 dimensional plans and other "descriptive" types of documents (all of which are critical to building but typically confuse the layperson); JR has made it a point to communicate with the client in terms that the client can understand. This includes 3d renderings, video, and other types of media. Well, the rendering and video part has transformed into a side service in and of itself, and the more JR can offer clients the better for JR and the client!
Happy Holidays and feel free to stop by for a chat!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
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